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However, they have generated exceptionally high customer loyalty,
as well as remarkable stockholder
return on investment that substantially exceeds that produced
by those corporate entities that
are focused exclusively on shortterm growth and profit.
So, what is going on here? Well,
it turns out that they are engaged
in a type of capitalism that is not
obsessed with ever increasing
stock prices above and beyond
everything else. Of course, they
want to be profitable and reward
their stockholders accordingly.
But that is not the be-all and endall of their existence. Stockholders are only one set of stakeholders, as these companies see it.
Employees, at all levels, are also
important stakeholders, as are
the specific communities in which
they operate. This is not simply a
calculated strategy to make employees and other stakeholders feel
good about the company, but a deliberate decision to act contrary to
the prevailing practices of modern
corporate capitalism. For example,
they pay their workers more than
their competitors and empower
them by inviting their contribution
to company decision-makin